Fresh off her Best Supporting Actress win at the Oscars for her performance in I, Tonya, Allison Janney has signed on to star in the thriller Lou for J.J. Abrams‘ production company, Bad Robot.
The film follows a young woman and her landlord, the titular Lou, who team up to track down the former’s child after the girl is kidnapped by the woman’s estranged husband. The story has been described as a tonal mix between Thelma & Louise and Taken, and the script has been penned by Maggie Cohn, with revisions by Jack Stanley.
Janney will play the landlord, described as a hard-shelled and rule-breaking woman that has un-expectantly impressive tracking abilities along with other skills. The film will be directed by Anna Foerster, who is best known for her work on the TV shows Jessica Jones and Outlander.
Lou was previously set up at Paramount but is now in turnaround, with Bad Robot raising financing to produce the movie independently.
This will be the latest high profile role for Janney, who naturally has had a lot of offers now that she’s post-Oscar. She just finished shooting the drama Bad Education alongside Hugh Jackman, and is also set to appear in the currently untitled Fox News-Roger Ailes movie. She’s also attached to star in Tate Taylor‘s Breaking News In Yuba County.
Lou doesn’t sound similar to any of those titles, so hopefully Janney can flex some acting muscles in the kind of role she’s not normally associated with. Production is looking at a spring 2019 date to begin.
#Peace.Love.Lou
